Easter
by Sam.J.Eller
Summary: Sam is struggling with his recent introduction into the hunting life and Dean just wants to make his little brother happy. The story behind why Sam believed in the Easter Bunny until he was eleven (and a half). Weechesters. One-Shot. Scared/Sad/Sam and Caring/Big Brother/Dean.


Note: So this was supposed to be out at the beginning of the weekend, but my computer hates me...so that didn't happen. Any millionaires out there want to buy my a new laptop...that'd be great! ;) Anyways, here it is. Hope you like it. Please comment/review if you are able! :)

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"Hey Sam, it's Easter tomorrow. What do you want to do?" I asked my little brother, who had his nose buried so deep into a book that I'd be surprised if he had even heard me.

"Nothing." He muttered.

I frowned at that. I mean sure Dad wouldn't be home, but it's not like this was the first holiday he had ever missed.

"Nothing? " I questioned.

Easter had never been a huge deal, but we always used to try and do something special. Normally I would hide chocolate eggs around the motel room for Sammy to find, he loved that last year.

"The Easter Bunny isn't going to visit if we don't celebrate his holiday." I declared.

Sam finally pulled his head out of his novel long enough to send me an exasperated look.

"There's no such thing as the Easter Bunny Dean, don't be stupid." He grumbled, before returning his gaze to the text.

Since when had the little dork stopped believing in the Easter Bunny?

Oh right, since Christmas, when he found out about monsters and stopped believing in Santa Clause; I suppose all the rest of the holiday figures went with him.

"Well we still need to do _something._" I insisted, because it was still a holiday and that was the perfect excuse to have some fun.

We could both use some fun, especially Sam.

A few days ago we went out on a hunt. It was a possessed animal, nothing serious. Sam had tagged along and stayed at my back, like he had since he started coming on hunts a few months ago. It had been easy, the coyote was dead in minutes. Unfortunately we came across the supernatural animal just as it was tearing into it's latest victim.

Literally tearing.

The scene had been gruesome to say the least. The coyote's meal was human and female, based on the hair, but there was nothing identifiable beyond that, other than blood and gore.

The second I took in the sight I reached out and clamped my hand over my kid brother's eyes, pulling him into me so that his face was tucked into my chest.

But even my immediate reaction, hadn't been quick enough.

Sam had seen all he needed to.

He hadn't gotten much rest since.

Sammy's sleep was riddled with nightmares for the past three nights. He would wake up screaming at some ridiculous hour and spend the rest of the night curled up trying not to cry. Every single time I would ask him if he wanted to sleep in my bed, but he always refused, he'd tell me he wasn't a baby anymore. The only comfort he would allow me to offer was verbal. I would talk or hum aloud until the kid finally drifted off.

I glanced at Sam, barely able to see his face past those long bangs, but I still managed to catch a glimpse of the dark rings under his eyes. Tonight I didn't care if Sam shrugged me off, the kid needed a solid rest and I knew the only chance of that happening was if we were in the same bed.

I knew that because when I was younger the only thing that ever helped me get to sleep after having a nightmare, was having my little brother tucked into my side.

Knowing that Sam was there, knowing he was safe; that was what always chased away the dark dreams.

"We are doing something for Easter. Whether you like it or not." I declared.

The young boy's eyes popped up to look at me. He glared for a moment and then his gaze softened and he just looked sad.

I would have preferred the aggravation.

"You don't have to do this okay?"

"Do what?" I asked in confusion.

Sam sighed heavily.

"The whole Easter thing. You don't have to get me chocolates or anything like that. I know that there's no Easter Bunny. I know that it's been you hiding the eggs. I'm older now, so we don't have to do that stupid kid stuff anymore."

I frowned. Sam was only eight years old. Since when did that not make him a kid?

And since when was having fun stupid?

This was my fault.

I had told Sam about the supernatural, I had been the one to confirm his suspicions that monsters were real. I now realized that I hadn't only brought evil into my kid brother's world, but apparently I had also extracted the innocence and magic.

Sam was too young to not want to celebrate holidays.

He was too young not to believe in fantasies like Santa Clause and even the Easter Bunny.

He was too young not to be happy.

I had screwed this up, and I needed to fix it.

"Hey Sam, I'm going across the street to grab some groceries real quick, you want me to get you something?" I questioned as I pocketed the money Dad had left on the table.

My little brother shook his head.

"You sure?" I asked. He hadn't been eating much since the hunt. He'd barely touched his dinner; I was more than willing to pick up any food he might actually eat.

"I'm sure." Sam mumbled.

"Fine. I'll be back in ten minutes." I promised, watching my brother's shaggy head bob up and down before closing the door and locking it behind me.

I had been nervous about leaving Sam alone in motel rooms since what happened a few years ago. Returning home to find some monster looming over my little brother was not something that I would be forgetting about anytime soon.

I rushed to the store, picking up a few essentials we were running out of: milk, bread, peanut-butter, Lucky Charms. And then a couple non-essentials: M&amp;M's, Doritos, and chocolate eggs.

I was on my way to the checkout when I noticed the giant egg. It was bigger than my head, wrapped up real nice and Eastery. It was made of chocolate and apparently there were numerous types of candy inside of it. I looked at the price, mentally calculating the amount of money I had stuffed into my pocket.

There was no way I could afford the groceries I had in my hand on top of the giant egg, and it was way too big for the five-finger discount. But the thought of the smile that would light-up Sammy's face at the sight of it, well that easily made my decision for me.

I put the M&amp;M's and Doritos back and switched the Lucky Charms out with Cheerios (honey-nut of course). Now I would have just enough for the massive chocolate egg.

I was so excited, I practically ran back to the motel room.

I didn't skip.

I definitely did not skit.

I'm not a girl.

"Hey Sammy, I-

I paused as I entered the room. My little brother was fast asleep on his bed, the book he had been reading all evening was resting on his chest.

I shook my head, a fond smile crossing my face. This kid.

I quietly closed the door and put the groceries away, I placed the giant egg on the small kitchen table and tip-toed about the room hiding the other chocolates.

Sam may have said he didn't want to celebrate Easter, but I had a feeling that wasn't completely true.

Besides, if a super-sized chocolate egg full of candy didn't make you want to enjoy the holiday, I don't know what the hell would.

I took Sam's book off his chest, marking his place before placing it on the side-table.

He wasn't in his pyjamas, but there was no way I was waking the kid. He needed the rest.

I carefully tugged the covers out from underneath my brother and pulled them over top of his thin frame.

Changing into my sleep-clothes, I then double-checked the salt-lines and the locked door before flicking off the light and slipping into bed.

"Night Sammy." I whispered before drifting off to sleep.

I was ripped from my dreams the same way I had been for the past few nights, awoken by the sound of my little brother's scream.

I shot up out of bed and headed straight for the gasping kid next to me.

"Hey Sam, you're okay buddy. It's okay. You're safe." I recited, my hands on the young boys heaving shoulders.

I continued to utter reassurances until the kid's breathing had finally levelled out and he was no longer trembling like a leaf.

"It's okay Dean. I'm okay. Sorry. You can go back to bed now." He mumbled, shrugging me off as he laid back down and turned away.

I snorted in exasperation.

"Yeah right." I said, unceremoniously shoving my brother to the other side of the bed, the one furthest from the door. I ignored his squawk of disapproval as I dropped down into the now-vacant space.

"Dean! Get out of my bed."

I reached over and grabbed my pillow, placing it under my head to clearly display that I was not going anywhere.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to sleep Sam. Do you mind?" I replied, feigning irritation as I turned on my side to face the little brat, my eyes closed.

I both heard and felt Sam's huff of irritation, but I ignored it, just as I did when he insisted he was "fine" and claimed that we were too big to be sharing the bed.

After all the complaining there were a few moments of silence before the gentle whisper reached my ears.

"Thanks Dean."

I made no response, except perhaps a twitch of my lips. Because damn if I didn't love this stupid stubborn kid more than anything.

A second later I felt the tickle of shaggy hair against my chin as my little brother inched closer and curled up against me. I lazily through my arm over his shoulder, palm resting against his back, keeping him safe. I only opened my eyes upon feeling a slight tug on my neck. I glanced down to see thin fingers wrapped around the golden charm I was given at Christmas.

I smiled, my heart clenching.

I would do whatever it took to give my little brother a happy Easter.

Because Sammy deserved some happy.

I woke up to a little brother who was soundly sleeping, glancing over at the clock and feeling satisfied that he had been out a solid six hours, not including the few hours before the nightmare woke him.

I made sure not to move, Sam was still tucked up against me and clutching my amulet. The sight of the large object on the table across the room reminded me what day it was.

"Sam." I called softly, combing the long brown locks off his face as I stared down at the young boy.

"Wake up Sammy." I encouraged a little louder, softly nudging him.

"Dee?" He mumbled sleepily.

I smirked, my brother loved to make my short name even shorter.

"Yeah buddy. Wake-up."

"Why? We leaving?"

I grimaced at the assumption, recalling the countless number of times in his short life that Sam was pulled from his bed only to be ushered into the Impala and driven out of town a few moments later.

"No kiddo, not today. It's Easter." I said, grinning down at the tired hazel eyes that stared up at me.

"Thought we weren't doing Easter?" Sam stated and questioned all at once.

"That was just when you were being a whiny little baby. You still doing that?"

My little brother scowled.

"I wasn't being a baby." He sulked.

"Whatever you say squirt. Now you going to get your lazy ass out of bed now?"

"You shouldn't say bad words. Dad would be mad." Sam declared, knuckling the sleep from his eyes as he sat up in bed, looking all of four years old with his hair askew.

"Yeah well Dad's not here. Now you going to get out of bed? Or should I eat all the chocolate you got from the Easter Bunny?"

"Dean, there's no such thing!" He sighed.

"Oh really? Then who brought that?" I questioned, pointing toward the kitchen.

Sam gave me a curious look before directing his gaze in the indicated direction. My brother's eyes widened to a comical degree as he noticed the prized object.

"What is it?" He asked, jumping out of bed, nearly getting tangled in the blankets during his rush across the room.

"What's it look like?" I inquired, biting back my laugh as I followed the little squirt.

Sam just ogled the egg, reaching out, but not touching, as though he were afraid it would disappear.

"How'd you get it?" He asked me after a moment, directing his wide stare up at me.

"I didn't get it for you. You think I could afford a chocolate egg that massive?" I joked.

My brother's face fell.

"Did you steal it?"

"You think I could fit that sucker into my pocket?" I pointed out playfully.

I could practically see the wheels in my little brother's head turning.

"Then how'd you-

"I didn't. It was the Easter Bunny."

"Dean-

"Sam."

The kid studied my face.

I knew that he didn't believe me.

I never thought that he would fall for the Easter Bunny thing, not anymore, but a part of me wanted some of the mystery, some of the magic to remain in the holiday.

A bright smile lit Sam's face, his dimples showing, and eyes sparkling.

"Thanks Dean!"

"Don't thank me."

My little brother giggled.

I hadn't realized how much I had missed that sound until I heard it right then.

"Alright. Thanks Mr. Easter Bunny." Sam yelled out.

I barked out a surprised laugh.

"Can I open it?" He asked me, hopping eagerly from foot to foot.

"Not until you find the rest of the eggs."

"There's more?" Sam gasped, glancing around the room.

"Yeah, but they're smaller. And you can't open the big one until you find them all. Or the Easter Bunny will be pissed."

"You shouldn't say pissed Dean." Sam admonished distractedly as he began searching the room.

I dropped into the chair with a snicker and watched as my little brother ran about the small motel room. I gave him hints when necessary, but the kid was pretty good at hunting them all down on his own.

As I watched him scurry about I couldn't help but smile.

Sure, Sam didn't really believe that some magical bunny had brought him the treats, but he was grinning from ear to ear and having fun and that's all I had wanted.

As long as Sammy was willing to fake his belief in the Easter Bunny, I had no problem pretending to be the mythical creature, if only to see that damn smile light up his face every year.

Eventually my little brother would no longer be interested in feigning his belief in the Easter mascot, but I figured I had a few more years of fun until that happened.

I wish that I could hide the evil from my little brother.

I wish I could have prevented him from seeing that gruesome sight during the last hunt.

I wish I could take back that day just a few months ago where I confirmed his suspicions about monsters.

I wish I could take the darkness that had seeped into his life that night and replace it with the childish innocence he had once possessed.

I wish I could restore his belief in magic and fairy-tales.

I wish I could keep that smile on his face and hear that giggle every moment of every day.

But I couldn't

What I could do was create some fun.

What I could do was fight off the nightmares.

What I could do was protect him from as much of the darkness as possible.

What I could do was encourage some childish behaviour.

Because even feigned innocence was better than honest misery.

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Note: Thanks for reading! Please comment/review if you can! I'd really appreciate it! - Sam


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